Pentecost +5, thoughts going in, Sunday June 28, 2015

After the death of Saul, 17 David composed a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan, 18 and he commanded that it be taught to the people of Judah. It is known as the Song of the Bow, and it is recorded in The Book of Jashar. 19 Your pride and joy, O Israel, lies dead on the hills! Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen! 20 Don’t announce the news in Gath, don’t proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice and the pagans will laugh in triumph. 21 O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor fruitful fields producing offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty heroes was defiled; the shield of Saul will no longer be anointed with oil. 22 The bow of Jonathan was powerful, and the sword of Saul did its mighty work. They shed the blood of their enemies and pierced the bodies of mighty heroes. 23 How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan! They were together in life and in death. They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions. 24 O women of Israel, weep for Saul, for he dressed you in luxurious scarlet clothing, in garments decorated with gold. 25 Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies dead on the hills. 26 How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan! Oh, how much I loved you! And your love for me was deep, deeper than the love of women!

            This week we continue our look at the life of King David in the David Saga, Part 4. It's actually a pretty big jump to go from the Goliath episode of 1Samuel 17 all the way to 2Samuel chapter 1 and the death of Saul and Jonathan. Looking at the big picture and getting a running start to this week's passage:  David develops a very close bond with Saul's son (and heir to the throne) Jonathan; because of his glowing reputation, David is appointed as Saul's armor bearer; out of jealousy Saul banishes David from court, yet he appoints him as captain of a thousand fighting men (perhaps hoping David will be slain in battle); due to his success in battle, David is given Saul's daughter Michal in marriage; David spends most of his time on the run from Saul, who, in fits of jealous rage wants to kill him... while at the same time both Saul AND David are doing non-stop battle with the Philistines and Israel's other tribal enemies.

            During this whole time, David had two opportunities to kill Saul and rid himself of this man who meant him no good--yet David refused to lift his hand against the Lord's anointed. As a side-note this is one of those concepts that is probably difficult for us to understand in our typically pragmatic mindset. If this thing is causing me grief, and I have an opportunity to remove it, then of course I'll remove it and my life will improve. Regardless of how pragmatic David may otherwise have been, part of what made him a man after God's own heart was his extremely high regard for God's divine activity. David knew that he also had been anointed as King, but rather than forcibly taking the throne from Saul he decided to let God work things out in His own time. That's called patience, and it's no easy thing for us--nor was it easy for David, especially when he was fleeing for his life from Saul.

            But that brings us to this week's passage: the song of lament that David composes upon hearing of the death of Saul and Jonathan. It may sound a bit jaded to some, but numerous commentators point out that David is no idiot in composing this dirge. The last thing he wants is to be seen as a usurper, and cause further fragmentation in Israel's fragile internal political situation. In our modern setting I'm always interested to note the glowing funeral comments and eulogies given to our leaders by their former political adversaries. Suddenly President such-in-such or Senator so-in-so was a "great American," blah blah blah. There's a savviness at work in such comments. Nothing is to be gained by speaking ill of the dead, but by praising them, one comes off as magnanimous; a voice of unity, and healing. Perhaps something like that is going on with David. He is intelligent, after all.

            Yet on the other hand, I keep coming back to that man after God's own heart thing. David never really seemed to lose sight of the big picture that Saul was the Lord's anointed, and that Israel was in a battle for its very survival. At various points it seems that David felt there was work enough for both of them to do and that Israel was better off with Saul than without him. And so when David intones the lament Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen (NLT translation), he does so first and foremost from the perspective of his grieving, fragile covenant community; he does so from the perspective of one who, no doubt, does not fully grasp (or even necessarily agree with) God's sense of timing. After all, the last chapter of 1Samuel which details the death of Saul and Jonathan, does so in the context of also stating that their entire fighting force was routed. In other words, it's not just that 2 very important people are dead.... many are dead... and the future of the covenant community is in question.

            This is where we can begin to see a potential parallel between this passage and our life of faith in the 21st century church. We too have mighty heroes who have fallen. In the context of our own faith community, I'm reminded this morning of: Barb Hasselmann, Gert Stoffregen, Al and Jane Broten, Rita Schwerin, Al Benson, and too many others to mention here. I've done over forty funerals since coming to Elk Grove Village. Granted, many were from the community and not necessarily members of our congregation, but most were. And WHEN we lose our mighty heroes, there is always more than a sense of loss... there is also a sense of DISMAY; dismay that God would choose such inopportune timing, given the struggles we're in.... the 'battles' we're fighting; dismay that the effect of their loss will be so demoralizing on those of us left to carry on, that we may just give up; and dismay regarding the future--always unknown at best, but now seemingly even more in question. Such feelings at a time like this are universal. David and the Israelites, no doubt, felt the same way.

            So, the questions that are percolating as I approach this text are things like.... where is the hope? Where is the 'gospel,' the good news? What is God calling his leaders and his people to do in such a situation? And most importantly, what can we learn from this passage.... and what can we appropriate for our own life of faith--both individually and as a worshiping community--from this passage?

Cheers,

T.M.

            

Pentecost +4, Thoughts going in, Sunday June 21, 2015

1Samuel 17:1 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. 4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels;6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. 8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defythe armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. 20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” 38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

The David Saga, Pt 3:  Only a boy named David, Only a little sling. Only a boy named David, But he could pray and sing. Only a boy named David, Only a rippling brook, Only a boy named David, But five little stones he took. And one little stone went in the sling And the sling went round and round And round and round and round and Round and round and round and round, And one little stone went up in the air. And the giant came tumbling down.

So goes the children’s Sunday School song I recall singing as a boy. It’s not a bad song. At its essence it teaches that with prayer AND faithful action, giants can be conquered. Although, at the risk of being a stickler for details, I should mention that the “one little stone” that he let fly was, in all likelihood, the size of a tennis ball. I grew up in an era when a slingshot was thought of primarily as a boy’s tool. A lad too young (or poor) for a rifle could, with practice, learn how to take down small game with a slingshot and marble sized pellet or stone. I and all my friends had ‘wrist-rocket’ style slingshots (though I never hunted with mine).

Archaeologists, however, tell us that in the Iron Age of Bible times the sling was a formidable battle weapon. A skilled slinger could hit a target with authority at roughly 100 yards. Peak velocity of the tennis ball sized projectile would be between 60 and 100 mph. Slingers were as skilled and important in battle as archers, and Israel had an established tradition of having trained slingers [see Judges 20:15-16 and 1Chronicles 12:2]. A couple of years ago the popular author Malcolm Gladwell came out with a book entitled “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.” In it he claimed that the iconic battle between the giant Goliath and the helpless shepherd boy David has been misinterpreted; that in reality, David was not the underdog...or that at least he would not be the underdog as long as he capitalized on the superior distance-fighting capabilities of his sling vs Goliath’s sword and javelin.

Maybe. As usual Gladwell gives us a LOT of food for thought, but I prefer to stick a bit closer to the biblical record which gives every indication that if Saul and the armies of Israel were betting men, they probably wouldn’t have wagered much on David’s chances for success. Still, the archaeological record goes a long way in de-mystifying this battle. Even as a boy I used to wonder about that part where David said he took down a lion and a bear with his wrist-rocket. Turns out, that wasn’t quite the case.

And in the end that puts this story somewhere between the mundane and the miraculous. This isn’t a walk in the park, but nor is David feeding the 5000 or walking on water. David is an ordinary boy who has, over the course of time, developed the ordinary skills and methods of his environment. On the other hand, there is no doubt that the giant Goliath is a scary figure. The giant possess instruments of pain and death, and seems to have no compunction against using them. This is real danger; this is an emergency. Someone has to do something…. the let’s do nothing and hope the problem goes away strategy has run its course.

Into the midst of this scenario, David acts. And he acts with faith. Did David foresee that the battle would end this way? Maybe. In last week’s reading it said that the Spirit of the Lord had come mightily upon David after his anointing (1Sam 16:13). Or, maybe David felt that the sight of a young boy fighting on their behalf would so embolden and inspire Saul’s troops that they would be roused to battle and win the victory. In the end, it didn’t matter. David recognized three things: (1) the giant was there (2) the giant wasn’t going to go away on his own (3) in faith action was called for.

Questions to ponder… How can we equate all of this to the ultimate David, “Great David’s Greater Son,” as the hymn calls our Savior Jesus? And as we live our Christian lives, what does this mean for us?

Cheers,


T.M.



Pentecost +3, Thoughts going in, Sunday June 14th 2015

1Samuel 15:34--16:13: Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. 1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” 2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” 5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” 12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. 

The David Saga, Pt 2.  This Sunday David, the main character of the sermon series, is introduced. The newly established monarchy of Israel isn't going well. In last week's text the prophet Samuel warned the elders of Israel about the prerogatives a king would demand for himself. A demanding, yet obedient king would have been one thing; Saul demonstrated his arrogant and independent attitude by disobeying the Lord's precise instructions, (followed by lying about it and feigning ignorance). This whole event is detailed in an earlier part of chapter 15, but the key point comes from vss 10-11: Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and disobeyed me.  

And that leads us to this week's reading, the introduction of David and his 'secret' anointing as God's choice of king. The reading begins with some degree of subterfuge. God desires Samuel to travel to Bethlehem, but Samuel responds: “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me” (v2). Two things need to be remembered here: (1) Saul may be king, but Samuel has been on the scene for much longer. And while Samuel's sons may not have panned out, Samuel's reputation as a prophet/judge of the people is still the gold standard. And (2) Samuel's oracle denouncing Saul was a matter of public record. Aging though he may be, might Samuel be so emboldened as to lead a coup d’état against Saul? Similar sentiments can also be seen in the response of the elders of Bethlehem: Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” (v5). 

What follows is an interesting 'pass and review' of Jesse's sons. And while Samuel is pretty impressed with the first son, this timeless sentiment is expressed in the narrative: But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” This makes sense, as Scripture refers to David as a man after God's own heart. 

There is a temptation to interpret this passage as meaning that God prefers to work by doing big things with little people. David is, after all, just a boy when Samuel anoints him as God's choice. This line of thought is bolstered when we consider the Gospel reading it has been paired with, the story of the mustard seed from Mark chapter 4--the smallest of seeds growing into a great shrub. But this is more than just a big things come in small packages story. It's a story of having the RIGHT HEART. Further, it's the story of David the prototype with the right heart, foreshadowing the ultimate Servant of God who had the right heart. This, after all, is why we bother studying David; not because ancient history is so important, but because in studying the life of this ancient king of Israel, we learn to turn our hearts more toward his heir... the King of kings and Lord of lords, our Savior Jesus whose heart was such that for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2). 

 Cheers,

T.M.

Pentecost +2, thoughts going in for Sunday June 7th 2015

1 Samuel 8:4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” 6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” 10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king.11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” 

This week begins the long season of Sundays "after Pentecost," and a return to the liturgical green time of year. It's often emphasized that green is for "growth"… either growth in the life of faith, or knowledge of God's word, or both. One of the things that aids such growth is the fact that the lectionary (our roadmap of readings on any given Sunday) begins offering 'continuous' readings. Stories are allowed to play out. That's what's going on now, particularly in the Old Testament readings. This Sunday marks the beginning of the "David Saga," although as we begin the story we get a running start and David is not personally mentioned yet. 

Specifically, this running start begins by relating how ancient Israel became a monarchy in the first place. God chose Moses to lead his people out of Egyptian captivity; Joshua succeeded Moses, leading the people to their settlement in the 'Promised Land.' But after the death of Joshua, no single person was appointed as a successor. "Israel" was a loose confederation of tribes, governed and commanded by "Judges" who were called by God on an 'as-needed' basis. The idea was that Israel was to be a 'Theocracy,' a nation directly ruled by God. Samuel was a 'bridge figure,' the last of the Judges and the first of the Prophets. 

Theologically, the key verse(s) of this passage are verses 5 and 20 where the people say: now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.  We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles. These statements point to TWO theological problems: (1) the problem of wanting to be like them over there and (2) the problem of faithful waiting. 

(1) Them over there. You don't have to have attended seminary (or synagogue school) to know the word GOY (Goyim, plural). The Goyim are the others. The Goyim are anyone and everyone outside of the covenant; Gentiles; the nations. If you peel the layers back far enough you find that to be Goy is to have one's allegiance, values, perspectives, desires, outlook, … in short, one's very soul, inverted away from God and God's ways, and toward self... the world... the forces aligned against God's Law, etc. In other words, in the Hebrew, the goal their shooting for, their purpose statement in verse 20 is we will be like the GOYIM. Israel doesn't want to be like Israel. Israel wants to be like them over there. 

How often can you relate to that? After all, them over there get to do a lot of things that are opposed to the baptismal covenant. Them over there get to sleep-in on Sunday mornings; they get to recreationally drink and drug to excess; they get to feed their addiction to internet pornography; they get to hold grudges and seek revenge against those who've wronged them; they get to carry on extra-marital and pre-marital affairs; they get to spend their money on anything they want, and hoard their resources for their own desires; they get to lie, cheat and steal in business practices; they get to stab others in the back as a means of getting ahead professionally. The list is endless. Them over there have a pretty 'fun' life compared to the stifling life of living in a covenant relationship with God. In the text the people cloak their desires in political/military terminology, but God is not fooled. In vs 7 God says: it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me. And what was true then is just as true today. The unchecked desire to be like them over there is still.... a rejection of God. Ultimately, them over there get to be, literally, God-less, and when we want to be like them over there, we're saying we want to be God-less also. 

(2) And then zooming in even further, the people seemed most tired of faithfully waiting on God. This is nothing new. The entire Exodus experience can be viewed through two separate lenses... the lens of the people and the lens of God. God saw the wilderness experience as a perfect opportunity of faith; the people were privileged to wait on him every day for their very existence, up to and including food and water. And God, like a new husband, was eager to show his ability to provide for his bride. God even used 'newlywed' metaphors to describe this: The LORD says: "'I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness (Jer 2:2). It sounds beautiful until you read what the people thought of it: The people spoke against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food (Num 21:5). From their perspective, life in the Promised Land hadn't gotten any better. They still had to faithfully wait on God--this time for military protection against their enemies. They had to wait for God to raise up the right person/Judge; they had to wait on God's ability to win the battle; they had to wait on God's timing. They had to have faith that God was going to make it all work out their way. This was infuriating. 

How often have we felt the same way? How often have we felt like God is purposely not answering our prayers just to tick us off? How often have we found the idea of faithfully waiting an infuriating prospect? Israel had it easy! They could just go to Samuel and say we don’t want God to be our King anymore, appoint a different king for us. It's a bit more difficult for us; we can't exactly have someone else appointed as God in our lives--though perhaps we've tried [the god of self; the god of materialism, etc.] 

The call to faith for us in this passage is to realize that NO other king/god has true power; no other king/god has true love for us; no other king/god has sacrificed himself for us; no other king/god has liberated us from enslavement to the world's ideas of fun and success; no other king/god has said I love you this much...and spread his arms wide on the cross; no other king/god has said I choose you to be my own beloved child in your baptism. No other king/god has said yes, you have to wait faithfully on me, but this is a strength-renewing process! They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31). And besides, in the final analysis, there really is no other king/god. 

Cheers, 

T.M.